1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to quality control inspections, and more specifically, to an automated quality control inspection system utilizing nital etch processing.
2. Description of Related Art
Newly manufactured parts, such as gears, are required to pass a quality control inspection prior to use. Conventional inspections include the initial step of undergoing a pretreatment process that visually enhances defects present with the gear. In one known process, the gear is pretreated with an etching solution, such as a mixture of alcohol and nitric acid, which in turn provides a visual indication of flaws.
FIG. 1 is a simple schematic of an inspector 101 performing a visual inspection of a gear 103 that has been pretreated with the etching solution. The inspection process, while effective under controlled conditions, can be affected, for example, by inspector fatigue, inspector-to-inspector variability, and so forth, all of which could result in poor inspection reliability and in some cases, result in catastrophic failure of the gear during use. The inspection process can also be time-consuming; an undesired feature when inspecting a large number of gears.
Although the foregoing developments in quality control inspection represent great strides, many shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.